Abstract 

Fiscal 2002 U.S. agricultural exports rose slightly from 2001. Most of the gain occurred 

in soybeans, feed grains, and wheat, as prices of those commodities increased. As a 

result, soybean and feed grain or wheat exporting States, such as Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, 

Nebraska, and Indiana, increased exports in 2002. North Dakota particularly benefited 

from increased wheat exports. California, which produces and exports primarily fruits, 

vegetables, tree nuts, and other agricultural products had slightly reduced exports in 

2002, even though it remained by far the largest agricultural exporting State. 

Keywords: U.S. exports by State, commodity groups, fiscal years, value.

Agricultural Exports From Grain 

And Soybean Producing States 

Rose in Fiscal 2002 

Carol Whitton 

FAU-78-01 

June 30, 2003

U .S . Agricultural E xports by C om m odity Group

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Fis c al years

B illion dollars

O ther

C otton

Fruits & nuts

Anim al

products

O ils eeds &

prod.

Food grains

Feed grains &

fodder
2 Economic Research Service, USDA 

U.S. agricultural exports increased in fiscal year 2002 

over 2001 primarily because prices rose for corn, 

wheat, and soybeans. But, overall gains were limited 

by strong foreign export competition for these and 

other products. 

Soybeans and products remained the largest export 

group, as demand rose worldwide, especially in 

China. Soybean prices were high, despite a record 

U.S. crop. Of all commodity groups, soybean exports 

increased the most, $516 million to $7.3 billion. 

Exports of the second largest commodity group, feed 

grains and products, also increased sharply, rising 

$246 million to $6.8 billion. Although demand for 

feed grains rose, export competition from China also 

increased. 

Exports of live animals and meat ranked third among 

commodity groups at $6.1 billion. But these exports 

declined $196 million from 2001. 

Wheat rose to fourth largest export, increasing $278 

million despite stronger export competition. Growth 

in wheat export value was second to soybeans. The 

value of wheat exports was $4.8 billion. 

Vegetables and fruit exports ranked fifth and sixth, at 

$4.6 million and $3.4 million, respectively. But, 

vegetable exports rose less than 1 percent, while fruit 

exports declined by 2 percent compared with 2001. 

Fruit and vegetable exports to Asia lagged, but sales 

to Mexico and Canada increased. 

Poultry and product exports suffered the largest 

decline, $239 million. A dispute between the United 

States and Russia over poultry meat exports to Russia 

was settled recently, improving prospects for 2003 

exports. 

California remained the largest State exporter by far, 

with exports of $7.2 billion, more than twice those of 

Illinois, the next largest exporting State. However, 

California’s exports in 2002 were almost $100 million 

less than in 2001. 

With exports of soybeans, feed grains, and wheat 

rising in 2002, exports rose in Illinois, Iowa, 

Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota, and Indiana, major 

soybean, corn, and wheat producing States. The 

largest year-to-year gains in total agricultural exports 

occurred in North Dakota and Nebraska. Exports 

from North Dakota rose by $288 million compared 

with 2001, while exports from Nebraska were up by 

$239 million. Indiana, Iowa, and Illinois followed 

closely, with gains of around $150 million each. 

Exports from Kansas showed less growth, $43 

million. 

As a result of large gains in wheat exports, North 

Dakota moved up in rank within the top 10 exporting 

States. North Dakota ranked eighth in 2002 with $1.9 

billion in total agricultural exports. North Dakota led 

all States in exports of sunflower seeds, with exports 

of $94 million. But, it was the 14-percent gain in 

North Dakota’s wheat exports in 2002 to $558 million 

compared with $491 million in 2001 that bumped the 

State up in rank. 

Besides California and North Dakota, the other States 

in the top 10 continued to be: Illinois, Iowa, 

Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Minnesota, Washington, 

and Indiana. In 2002, these top 10 agricultural 

exporting States accounted for 57 percent of total U.S. 

agricultural export value, 1 percent more than in 

2001. 

Adding the next 10 States, the top 20 exporting States 

accounted for 79 percent of U.S. exports, also 1 

percent more than in the previous year. Each State in 

the top 20 exported more than $900 million worth of 

agricultural products for the year. 

In California, the gain in exports of tree nuts was not 

sufficient to offset losses in fruits, vegetables, and 

cotton. California’s 2002 exports dropped to $7.2 

billion, from $7.3 billion in 2001. However, 

California continued to be the leading exporter for 

fruits, tree nuts, and vegetables. It accounted for 91 

percent of all U.S. exports of tree nuts, exporting $1.1 

billion of the $1.2 billion U.S. total in 2002. 

California also exported $1.7 billion in fruit, 50 

percent of the total U.S. export of $3.4 billion. And 

the State accounted for 44 percent or $2 billion of the 

$4.6 billion total U.S. exports of vegetables in 2002. 

Besides these commodities, California was the second 

leading exporter of cotton with $286 million, rice at 

$206 million, and dairy products at $215 million. 

California also led all States in export of seeds and 

other products. 

Illinois was the second largest State exporter in 2002, 

with exports of $3.3 billion, while Iowa followed 

closely in third rank with exports of $3.2 billion. 

California Continued To Dominate 2002 State Exports
3 Economic Research Service, USDA 

These two States led in exports of feed grains and 

soybeans. With exports estimated about the same for 

each, Illinois ranked first in feed grains and Iowa 

ranked first in soybeans. Together the two States 

accounted for 31 percent of U.S. feed grain exports 

and one-third of all soybean exports from the United 

States. Soybeans and feed grains account for about 

70 percent of all agricultural exports from each of 

these States. 

Nebraska jumped up to fourth-ranked State exporter 

from sixth rank in 2001, exceeding both Kansas and 

Texas in 2002 exports. Nebraska’s exports increased 

8.2 percent or $239 million. Although Nebraska led 

all U.S. States in export of animals and meat, hides 

and skins, and fats and oils, of these, only fats and oils 

increased in 2002. The State’s exports of animals and 

meats dropped $26 million, and exports of hides fell 

by $24 million. As in other States, Nebraska’s gains 

in 2002 exports occurred primarily in soybeans, up 

$136 million, feed grains, up $133 million, and wheat, 

up $20 million. 

With $3 billion in exports in 2002, Kansas was the 

fifth largest exporting State. Kansas leads U.S. 

exports of wheat and products, exporting nearly $700 

million worth in 2002. Kansas wheat exports rose 

$78 million from the previous year, a 13-percent gain. 

And the State accounted for 15 percent of all U.S. 

wheat exported that year. Kansas also led U.S. States 

in exports of feeds and fodders, with exports valued at 

$349 million; however, its exports of these products 

slipped slightly in 2002. 

Texas ranked sixth among exporting States in 2002. 

Texas led the United States in the export of cotton and 

cottonseed. But, Texas also is the second largest 

exporting State for feeds and fodders and peanuts. It 

exported $271 million of feeds and fodders and $67.5 

million of peanuts in 2002. The State also ranks as a 

large exporter of a number of other commodities such 

as wheat, rice, sunflower seeds, livestock, hides, and 

fats and oils. Texas exported $2.9 billion of 

agricultural products in 2002. 

Minnesota, the seventh-ranked export State, was an 

important exporter of soybeans, feed grains, and 

wheat, as well as vegetables, dairy products, and 

feeds and fodders. Washington State ranked second 

to California in exports of vegetables and third in 

exports of fruits. And, Indiana’s most important 

exports were feed grains and soybeans. 

Georgia remained the leading State exporter of 

poultry and products and of peanuts. Other important 

poultry exporters include Arkansas and Alabama. 

Texas and Alabama also are significant peanut 

exporters. 

South Dakota’s most important export was still 

sunflower seeds and products, in which it was second 

to North Dakota. 

Arkansas continued to lead rice exports. Other 

important rice exporting States include California, 

Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. 

North Carolina continued to lead in exports of 

tobacco, followed by Kentucky. And, Wisconsin’s 

main export, not surprisingly, was dairy products. 

Florida was second only to California in exports of 

fruit. And, Oregon ranked second in tree nut exports 

and fourth in fruits. 

A new page has been created on our web 

site for State export data, 

www.ers.usda.gov/data/stateexports. This 

site includes links to the three previously 

published tables, plus two additional 

historical data tables, and this article. 
4 Economic Research Service, USDA 

Data on the value of U.S. agricultural exports by State 

of production are not part of the U.S. export 

information collected by the U.S. Customs Service. 

Consequently, the Economic Research Service (ERS) 

estimates State agricultural exports using the Custom 

District-level export data compiled by the U.S. 

Census Bureau and the State-level agricultural 

production data supplied by the National Agricultural 

Statistics Service (NASS). Using these 

approximations, a State that is the largest producer of 

an agricultural commodity will also account for the 

largest share of U.S. exports of that commodity. 

Countries of destination for each State’s exports 

cannot be determined. 

U.S. agricultural commodity exports often are 

produced in inland States. From the farm, a 

commodity is sold to a local elevator, which in turn 

may sell it to a larger elevator located at a major 

transportation hub, which then moves the commodity 

to a port. As the commodity passes through several 

States before being exported, the State of origin often 

is lost or the product commingled with similar 

product from other States. Frequently, the State from 

which the commodity began its export journey, not 

necessarily the State in which the commodity was 

produced, is reported by the exporter. To more 

accurately reflect the situation for inland agricultural 

producing States, ERS calculates U.S. State 

agricultural exports based on a State’s share of 

production of the exported commodity. 

The underlying crop and livestock production and 

slaughter estimates by State from NASS are publicly 

available at www.usda.gov/nass/. The State’s share 

of production of the commodity is simply applied to 

the U.S. export figure for the commodity to derive 

export value. 

But, for the many processed agricultural products 

considered U.S. agricultural exports, NASS does not 

provide production statistics. These include products 

such as pasta. For these products, supplemental data 

from the Census of Agriculture, 1997 and the 

Department of Commerce’s Product Summary, 1997 

Economic Census, Manufacturing, Subject Series

have been used to refine State export estimates. 

Estimates of U.S. State exports also are made by other 

organizations—Census, MISER, etc. Their estimates 

are based primarily on the Customs data reported at 

the port and compiled by the Census Bureau. 

Consequently, for agricultural commodities, 

compared with ERS’ estimates, those estimates tend 

to inflate the relative exports of port States and 

undercount those of inland States, where farm 

commodities tend to originate. 

Contact Information 

Carol Whitton 202-694-5293 cwhitton@ers.usda.gov

Trade Information 

State export data are now found at http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/stateexports. 

Monthly and year-to-date U.S. agricultural trade (FATUS and HTS) data are on the Foreign Agriculture Service’s web 

site http://www.fas.usda.gov/ustrade/. 

Frequently asked questions and answers and summary FATUS data tables are at http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/fatus. 

For articles and general information about agricultural trade see http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/agtrade. 

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provider and employer.

Methodology 
5 Economic Research Service, USDA 

Table 1--U.S. agricultural exports, by leading States: Estimated value by commodity group, fiscal year 2002

Commodity group United Leading 10 States, by value

States 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Million dollars

CA IL IA NE KS TX MN ND WA IN

Total 53293.6 7160.0 3310.5 3217.7 3144.8 3005.6 2932.7 2202.4 1933.7 1787.7 1696.2

IA IL IN MN NE OH MO SD AR KS

Soybeans and products 7325.7 1217.7 1211.1 694.2 675.1 565.0 475.9 471.9 362.5 231.1 221.4

IL IA NE IN KS MN OH TX SD MO

Feed grains and products 6779.2 1054.7 1049.5 778.7 569.9 519.5 512.1 282.0 259.8 250.3 245.6

NE KS TX IA CO IL MN KY WI NC

Live animals and meat 6097.4 929.8 748.4 696.3 595.1 285.6 273.8 238.4 201.7 194.3 193.8

KS ND WA TX OK MN MT OH ID CO

Wheat and products 4787.1 695.1 558.2 267.0 249.1 242.2 203.2 196.7 174.8 158.0 147.8

CA WA ID WI MN OR FL ND MI NY

Vegetables and preparations 4551.0 2022.1 474.0 246.8 244.8 194.2 143.1 137.5 123.0 105.8 101.3

CA FL WA OR MI NY TX HI PA AZ

Fruit and preparations 3433.5 1725.9 614.6 532.8 97.9 79.5 61.3 42.3 32.4 31.2 27.9

GA AR AL NC MS TX IN VA PA DE

Poultry and products 2279.3 263.8 252.6 209.7 209.4 155.6 123.0 82.8 71.2 65.0 59.7

TX CA MS GA AR NC LA TN AL AZ

Cotton and linters 2052.1 425.7 286.1 235.8 218.5 180.4 164.7 101.8 96.3 90.6 70.5

KS TX NE IA MN CO IL MO ID SD

Feeds and fodders 1951.2 349.3 271.1 181.7 105.4 75.2 61.2 56.3 55.1 46.2 46.1

NE KS TX CO WI UT MN CA PA IA

Hides and skins 1776.0 353.4 322.6 283.5 134.5 114.8 61.9 50.8 50.0 49.2 49.0

CA OR GA TX HI NM AZ LA OK AL

Tree nuts 1231.9 1121.0 37.3 18.6 13.7 12.6 11.8 3.9 3.1 2.9 2.7

NC KY SC TN GA VA CT PA FL MA

Tobacco, unmanufactured 1147.4 442.1 255.1 89.7 82.2 74.9 70.7 48.0 23.0 14.6 13.5

WI CA MN NY ID PA WA IA OH TX

Dairy products 1030.7 223.5 215.0 74.2 56.6 52.0 47.7 40.5 33.9 26.4 24.5

CA AZ IL OR IA NE na na na na

Seeds 839.2 184.0 77.9 49.0 45.8 45.8 37.1 na na na na

AR CA LA MS TX MO na na na na

Rice 829.3 369.0 206.2 103.5 57.2 50.7 42.6 na na na na

NE KS TX CO WI IA IL CA PA MN

Animal fats 454.4 94.9 84.7 73.1 31.5 21.2 19.3 14.8 13.8 12.6 12.3

GA TX AL NC FL OK VA NM SC na

Peanuts and products 258.3 102.1 67.5 29.5 16.3 15.4 12.4 9.3 4.2 1.5 na

ND SD KS CO TX NE MN na na na

Sunflowerseed and oil 218.3 94.1 63.6 25.0 13.3 7.7 5.3 4.7 na na na

TX MS CA GA AR NC LA TN AL MO

Cottonseed and products 97.6 22.6 11.5 11.1 10.0 9.3 7.3 5.0 4.6 4.1 3.5

CA ND IL PA FL WA TX OR OH NC

Other 6154.1 894.6 810.1 433.1 323.4 293.1 262.7 202.4 191.5 141.1 112.2

na = not applicable. Fiscal years = October 1 - September 30.

Other = Minor oilseeds, sugar and tropical products, nursery and greenhouse, essential oils, beverages other than juice, and misc. vegetable products.
6 Economic Research Service, USDA 

Table 2--State agricultural exports: Estimated value, million dollars, fiscal year 1998-2002

FY 1998 FY 1999 FY 2000 FY 2001 FY 2002

United States 53652.9 49043.3 50743.8 52698.5 53293.6

California 6941.0 6337.3 6866.7 7259.7 7160.0

Illinois 3284.8 2969.4 3025.7 3168.6 3310.5

Iowa 3429.5 3091.5 3176.5 3063.9 3217.7

Nebraska 2872.6 2842.8 3013.4 2906.0 3144.8

Kansas 3027.2 2929.7 3155.8 2962.7 3005.6

Texas 3155.1 2568.7 3136.9 2959.2 2932.7

Minnesota 2356.4 2320.2 2275.2 2346.0 2202.4

North Dakota 1038.9 1483.5 1180.5 1645.6 1933.7

Washington 1613.1 1726.3 1561.6 1828.9 1787.7

Indiana 1596.0 1419.5 1402.3 1533.5 1696.2

North Carolina 1606.1 1348.6 1317.5 1476.3 1500.7

Wisconsin 1321.3 1309.4 1377.5 1425.9 1394.1

Ohio 1474.5 1282.3 1174.4 1293.3 1312.5

Florida 1134.3 1177.3 1276.5 1235.9 1267.5

Missouri 1393.0 1117.7 1073.6 1250.1 1177.8

South Dakota 1085.6 1067.1 1067.4 1081.9 1039.8

Georgia 1042.1 830.6 908.8 960.7 1013.5

Pennsylvania 917.7 903.2 928.5 1076.3 984.3

Arkansas 1272.0 951.2 980.3 905.2 962.1

Colorado 853.5 839.3 945.7 881.4 904.0

Kentucky 851.9 809.2 739.8 875.6 870.3

Idaho 786.8 747.7 775.9 806.5 789.2

Michigan 860.4 762.9 831.2 793.4 734.9

Arizona 794.6 672.9 718.4 748.0 669.6

Oregon 678.3 647.5 625.5 680.0 651.6

Mississippi 816.6 546.2 604.7 589.4 649.2

Tennessee 579.4 467.7 488.1 562.1 610.0

Oklahoma 558.9 530.7 530.9 530.5 540.0

New York 461.2 469.3 475.5 491.0 493.3

Virginia 494.3 430.3 458.7 485.6 477.1

Alabama 471.6 372.8 392.2 400.1 418.5

Louisiana 545.2 375.5 426.6 401.6 395.2

South Carolina 352.7 255.3 262.8 293.4 300.2

Montana 390.1 347.1 349.7 307.6 267.7

Utah 133.4 134.2 247.5 260.6 254.0

Maryland 266.5 221.3 223.6 266.1 236.1

Massachusetts 149.0 134.3 156.5 132.1 144.7

Delaware 140.5 116.6 113.5 144.1 139.2

New Jersey 121.6 116.1 103.9 121.6 117.7

New Mexico 102.2 81.3 97.4 78.6 100.4

Hawaii 81.5 81.3 78.9 73.2 69.9

Connecticut 104.4 102.9 116.3 85.2 63.8

Maine 56.7 57.8 59.9 60.8 58.1

Wyoming 48.5 41.7 42.8 42.0 36.7

West Virginia 39.0 30.4 30.8 37.9 34.8

Nevada 14.6 12.7 16.2 16.4 13.8

Vermont 15.6 15.0 16.1 5.9 5.9

New Hampshire 5.7 5.0 6.3 6.3 5.7

Rhode Island 2.5 2.1 2.1 2.3 2.1

Alaska 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9

Order based on fiscal 2002 rank. Fiscal years = October 1-September 30.